Categories: GeneralSynonyms

BLEAK: Synonyms and Related Words. What is Another Word for BLEAK?

Need another word that means the same as “bleak”? Find 44 synonyms and 30 related words for “bleak” in this overview.

The synonyms of “Bleak” are: bare, barren, desolate, stark, black, dim, cutting, raw, exposed, arid, denuded, lunar, open, empty, windswept, cold, keen, harsh, wintry, unpromising, unfavourable, unpropitious, inauspicious, adverse, disadvantageous, uninviting, discouraging, disheartening, depressing, cheerless, joyless, gloomy, sombre, dreary, dismal, wretched, miserable, dark, grim, drab, portentous, foreboding, hopeless, ominous

Bleak as an Adjective

Definitions of "Bleak" as an adjective

According to the Oxford Dictionary of English, “bleak” as an adjective can have the following definitions:

  • (of an area of land) lacking vegetation and exposed to the elements.
  • (of a situation) not hopeful or encouraging; unlikely to have a favourable outcome.
  • Offering little or no hope.
  • Offering little or no hope- J.M.Synge.
  • (of the weather) cold and miserable.
  • (of a building or room) charmless and inhospitable; dreary.
  • Unpleasantly cold and damp.
  • Providing no shelter or sustenance.
  • (of a person's expression) cold and forbidding.

Synonyms of "Bleak" as an adjective (44 Words)

adverseIn an opposing direction.
Adverse weather conditions.
arid(of land or a climate) having little or no rain; too dry or barren to support vegetation.
The arid plains north of Cape Town.
bareJust barely adequate or within a lower limit.
An ordeal that would lay bare a troubled family background.
barren(of a tree or plant) not producing fruit or seed.
The barren fig tree.
blackOf a ski run of the highest level of difficulty as indicated by black markers positioned along it.
A black moonless night.
cheerlessCausing sad feelings of gloom and inadequacy.
Something cheerless about the room.
coldHaving a low or inadequate temperature or feeling a sensation of coldness or having been made cold by e g ice or refrigeration.
A cold and unaffectionate person.
cuttingCapable of cutting something.
The cutting blades of the hedge trimmer.
darkHaving a dark hue.
A dark gloomy day.
denudedWithout the natural or usual covering.
depressingCausing or resulting in a feeling of miserable dejection.
That thought is too depressing for words.
desolate(of a place) uninhabited and giving an impression of bleak emptiness.
A desolate Pennine moor.
dimMade dim or less bright.
The dimmed houselights brought a hush of anticipation.
disadvantageousInvolving or creating circumstances detrimental to success or effectiveness.
The new employment scheme is disadvantageous to women.
discouragingExpressing disapproval in order to dissuade.
Where never is heard a discouraging word.
dishearteningDestructive of morale and self-reliance.
Her death is particularly disheartening because it was preventable.
dismalCausing a mood of gloom or depression.
The first dismal dispiriting days of November.
drabLacking in liveliness or charm or surprise.
Her drab personality.
drearyLacking in liveliness or charm or surprise.
The dreary round of working eating and trying to sleep.
emptyDevoid of significance or force.
Their promises were empty words.
exposedNot sheltered or protected from the weather.
Some areas of exposed coastline could see gusts of wind of more than 80 mph.
forebodingImplying that something bad is going to happen.
When the Doctor spoke his voice was dark and foreboding.
gloomyDark or poorly lit, especially so as to appear depressing or frightening.
A gloomy silence.
grimVery serious or gloomy.
A grim goalless draw in appalling weather.
harshUnpleasantly rough or jarring to the senses.
The harsh facts of court delays.
hopelessWithout hope because there seems to be no possibility of comfort or success.
The situation is hopeless.
inauspiciousUnlucky.
Following this inauspicious start the British outnumbered withdrew.
joylessNot giving or feeling any pleasure or satisfaction; grim or dismal.
A joyless occasion.
keenInterested in or attracted by (someone or something.
Keen winds.
lunarOf, determined by, or resembling the moon.
A lunar eclipse.
miserable(of a person) wretchedly unhappy or uncomfortable.
Almost depleted his miserable store of dried beans.
ominousGiving the worrying impression that something bad is going to happen; threateningly inauspicious.
There were ominous dark clouds gathering overhead.
openOpen and observable not secret or hidden.
The plans allow increasing numbers of new houses in open countryside.
portentousPuffed up with vanity.
This portentous year in Canadian history.
raw(of language) coarse or crude, typically in relation to sexual matters.
You may kill someone someday with your raw power.
sombreLacking brightness or color; dull.
The night skies were sombre and starless.
starkProviding no shelter or sustenance.
Stark poverty.
unfavourableInvolving or creating circumstances detrimental to success or effectiveness.
Single mothers are often the target of unfavourable press attention.
uninviting(especially of a place or prospect) not attractive.
The house was dark and uninviting.
unpromisingNot giving hope of future success or good results.
The boy s natural intellect had survived in unpromising circumstances.
unpropitious(of a circumstance) not giving or indicating a good chance of success; unfavourable.
His reports were submitted at a financially unpropitious time.
windsweptUntidy in appearance after being exposed to the wind.
Windswept headlands.
wintryCharacteristic of or occurring in winter.
Brown wintry grasses.
wretchedOf very poor quality or condition.
She disliked the wretched man intensely.

Usage Examples of "Bleak" as an adjective

  • The future looks bleak.
  • He looked round the bleak little room in despair.
  • A bleak and barren moor.
  • Bleak winds of the North Atlantic.
  • He paints a bleak picture of a company that has lost its way.
  • A bleak midwinter's day.
  • His mouth was set and his eyes were bleak.
  • Life in the Aran Islands has always been bleak and difficult.
  • Prospects were bleak.
  • The bleak treeless regions of the high Andes.

Associations of "Bleak" (30 Words)

barrenA barren tract or tracts of land.
The room was barren of furniture.
crestfallenSad and disappointed.
He came back empty handed and crestfallen.
dejectedAffected or marked by low spirits.
He stood in the street looking dejected.
depressedLower than previously.
The market is depressed.
despairA state in which all hope is lost or absent.
In despair I hit the bottle.
despairingShowing the loss of all hope.
He gave a despairing little shrug.
desperateDesperately determined.
Felt a desperate urge to confess.
despondentWithout or almost without hope.
Despondent about his failure.
dingyDiscolored by impurities; not bright and clear is often used in combination.
A dingy room.
disappointedDisappointingly unsuccessful.
Thousands of disappointed customers were kept waiting.
disconsolateVery unhappy and unable to be comforted.
She left Fritz looking disconsolate.
discouragedLacking in resolution.
Felt discouraged by the magnitude of the problem.
dismalCausing dejection.
The dismal weather made the late afternoon seem like evening.
dispiritedHaving lost enthusiasm and hope; disheartened.
A dispirited and divided Party.
drabClothes especially trousers made of drab.
A young man dressed in drabs.
drearyLacking in liveliness or charm or surprise.
A series of dreary dinner parties.
forbiddenNot allowed; banned.
A list of forbidden books.
gloomyCausing dejection.
A dark gloomy day.
hangdogShowing a sense of guilt- Eric Linklater.
The hangdog and shamefaced air of the retreating enemy.
heartsickFull of sorrow.
Weary and heartsick she forced herself to search throughout the remains of the village.
helplessUnable to defend oneself or to act without help.
Lying ill and helpless.
hopelessBeyond hope of management or reform.
She handed me a hopeless jumble of papers.
inhospitable(of an environment) harsh and difficult to live in.
They are extremely inhospitable these days.
melancholyHaving a feeling of melancholy sad and pensive.
She felt a little melancholy.
pessimisticExpecting the worst possible outcome.
He was pessimistic about the prospects.
prohibit(of a fact or situation) make (something) impossible; prevent.
All ivory trafficking between nations is prohibited.
relentlesslyIn an unceasingly intense or harsh way.
Joseph worked relentlessly.
sadOf things that make you feel sad Christina Rossetti.
He told her the sad story of his life.
starkSevere or bare in appearance or outline.
His position is in stark contrast to that of Curran.
unmitigatedNot diminished or moderated in intensity or severity; sometimes used as an intensifier.
The tour had been an unmitigated disaster.
Alexei

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